White Ginger or Camia (Hedychium Coronarium)

The Camia flowers about to shoot from their cone. Fully opened, they resemble butterflies that is why it is called Mariposa in Cuba where it is the national flower.

The Camia flowers about to shoot from their cone. Fully opened, they resemble butterflies that is why it is called Mariposa in Cuba where it is the national flower.

If taxi drivers with some aesthetic sense or religious fervor in Manila and Bangkok decorate their vehicles with Jasmin garlands, in Hong Kong, tasteful cab drivers have their little porcelain vases on their dashboard with a cone of White Ginger. In a humid summer day, this sweet scented flower is a welcome treat to a Hong Kong commute.

A mass of partially opened Camia flowers in a small glass container makes for a dainty and fragrant arrangement on my table.

A mass of partially opened Camia flowers in a small glass container makes for a dainty and fragrant arrangement on my table.

White Ginger is also known as Butterfly Ginger or Camia in the Philippines. They are called Butterfly Ginger because the flowers resemble butterflies.It is native to tropical Asia and can be found in many marshy locations and along ditch banks. It is a tropical perennial with green stalks that grow from thick rhizome to a height of 2 to 4 feet. In gardens the beautiful rich green foliage makes a great background for smaller plants. Every time I see Camias dangling seemingly forlorn in Sampaguita leis, I cannot help but think what a waste. It is a waste because those Camias will never open as individual blossoms tend to wilt quickly when detached from its cone. With a wilted bud, how can one fully appreciate their subtle fragrance?

Camias as offering to the Buddha. The Burmese bronze seating Buddha, c. 18th century, is flanked by a pair of modern Thai celadon lions called singha.

Camias as offering to the Buddha. The Burmese bronze seating Buddha, c. 18th century, is flanked by a pair of modern Thai celadon lions called singha.

One of my all time favorite flower, I use to buy them in Hong Kong as cut flowers with 2 – 3 feet of stalk and a leaf or two. There is a way of forcing the buds to shoot from their cone so they can open one by one. As cut flowers on stalks they last for 3 – 4 days until the last bud shoots out of its cone. I wanted to demonstrate here how one can arrange these flowers with stalks but unfortunately, there is none in the market. The only way I can have them on stalks and cones is to go to some parts of Laguna close to Quezon where I can gather them free by the roadside. The Camias I used here are what I got from San Pedro, Laguna which came from Pampanga and are meant to be used as pendants to Sampaguita leis. The flowers have been detached from their cone and to prolong their life span, I had to keep them refrigerated before using. These partially opened flowers in water can be appreciated for not more than a day before they droop and become soggy.